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Warhammer 40k, choosing an army

Moving a bit away from MMOs and since my Salamanders posts do generate a bit of interest I wanted to write this for all of you wondering whether or not to start an army and how to go about it. I plan to write on this on Mondays for the next few weeks so stay tuned. This week I will give a quick overview of wich army you may want to pick based on what you’re looking for and I’ll go into a bit more details about the armies in the following two weeks.

Choosing an army

Choosing an army is probably the most important decision you can make when starting to play. With the cost involved and the effort you put into these minis you want to get it right. The thing is that not everyone is looking for the same thing in an army and it can be hard to figure out what you really want. So before starting take a moment to truly think about what you would like from your army.

The list bellow is based on my personal experiences from when I was selling them and my involvement in the local gaming scene. These are opinions and some people might disagree, they are welcome to leave their comments below if they feel something should be rectified.

Solid beginners choice:Space marines / Orks

Some people when starting an army simply want an army that is easy to learn for a beginner while being solid,current and competitive at the same time. In short an army that one can grow into. Spaces marines are hand down the best choice for sheer versatility and endurance while orks will appeal to those who prefer a more close combat army. Both these armies are the ones in the Battle for BlackReach box, the excellent Warhammer 40k starter set.

Massive ranged destruction: Imperial Guard / Tau

If what you like is throwing huge amount of lead, explosive, ordnance and all sort of ranged destruction these armies are for you. Even if a lot of armies out there are capable of winning through ranged firepower, these are the two that will make your enemies quake in fear. The Imperial Guard is more of a traditional tanks and artillery style while the Tau goes for high-tech weaponry. A note should be made that the Tau is not very beginner friendly and demands an excellent level of play.

Tearing your enemy apart limb from limb: Tyranids / Blood Angels

Again, a lot of armies can do an ungodly amount of close combat damage but Tyranids and Blood Angels are my two picks because these two are almost exclusively focused on close combat and they have distinctive styles. Tyranids are your horde of hungry genetically engineered alien killing machines while Blood Angels are your ultimate warriors tooled up with epic gear. Both armies hit incredibly hard and you’ll see your opponent sweat at the tought of having to fight you in close combat.

Tournament champions: Space marines / Imperial guard

When starting some people want to win and beat their opponents first and foremost. While every army can potentially win a tournament these are the two you will encounter the most often and for excellent reasons. Both are extremely well designed, robust and versatile wich gives them good chances in an environment where you don’t know what you will be up against. Not only that but they both have bottomless bags of tricks with wich to surprises their opponents and give them the edge.

Artist choice : Chaos Space Marines / Chaos Daemons

Chaos lore is basically a blank check to do whatever you want to do with them. You can be as conventional or crazy as you want and the conversion possibilities are limited only by your imagination. The best part is it’s all possible in the lore so you don’t get nerd rages when you show up with something weird. It’s no coincidence that over half the Golden Demon winners have done it with Chaos related minis.

The lazy painter: Space Marines / Chaos demons

Some people are not really interested by modelling and painting and want to get that part done and over with as quickly as possible. With simple color schemes , few details and not too many minis to paint both these armies can be done relatively quickly without too much effort if you don’t want to.

Cheap and efficient : Space Marines, Necrons

If you’re looking not to spend too much and want to get that army completed easily enough those are you two best choices. Necrons do have some pricey units but so few of them are required you save that way.

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One Response

Good post, and very helpful. I find that that the Eldar are the most artistic (and my favorite, with the Necrons a close second), and the Dark Eldar are the most evil. My reasons?
The Eldar figures look sleek and shiny (to me, at least) and they are even described multiple times by GW as “stylish” and “fashionable”.

Also, the Eldar take extreme skill to play effectively, and the reward is not as great as say, the Space Marines (curse those engineered freaks!). I actually hate playing against the Space Marines, as they are so forgiving and versatile only because they sell well. This was a good decision by GW, however, as the most useful race in most situations is a good way to attract newcomers without the overwhelming unforgiveness of other more varied races (like the Tau and Eldar) So overall, I accept Space Marines as the most useful race in most situations.

The Dark Eldar are more evil than the Chaos to me because they delight in sheer torture. In fact, they thrive in it. The Chaos Space Marines are not as evil in my opinion. They were, I like to think, promised far greater rewards then the Daemons actually gave them.

Sorry for my rant, just wanted to comment on this article I happened to find.